


The Choices We Make

by tinybox



Series: Rewind (fast forward) [7]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Clones, Names, Plants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 16:11:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17749151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: "What's that thing supposed to be, anyway? Looks stupid.""I think it's kind of cute.""Course you would think that. You're the stupid one.""Looks like an Acer buergerianum."When Dark Leonardo returns from his stay with the original turtles, he comes back with a bonsai tree. None of the others are quite sure what to make of the tiny plant, or for that matter, why Dark Leo chose to take it with him.Set after 'DNA is Thicker Than Water'





	The Choices We Make

 

When the Dark Turtles return to the base, the act of Blue sharing the meat between them is so mind boggling that none of them notice that he'd brought back something with him.

 

It's Dark Raph who notices the plant first. 

"What's that supposed to be?" he asks, pointing a large red finger at the greenery that Dark Leonardo is carefully watering.

The warehouse doesn't get much sunlight, so he found the sunniest looking place available and hoped for the best. He really doesn't have any memories of how to care for plants besides making sure it doesn't die, and even then that knowledge is spotty at best. 

(Most of the memories Darius saw fit to give them were ones that taught them how to fight, and it's not like those are good enough to stop them from getting beaten by the turtles, so of course the few that aren't fighting-related are even more degraded by comparison.) 

Dark Leonardo looks up, making sure to pause watering the bonsai so he won't accidentally drown it. "It's a plant. They gave it to me."

Dark Raph scowls, an expression that doesn't look too different from his resting face, except his brows are a little more furrowed and the lines around his eyes are a bit deeper. 

"I _know_ that, I ain't an idiot like Orange! Why'd ya take that dumb thing with you anyway?" The only thing that keeps Dark Raph from punching Dark Leonardo right in his stupid mouth is because part of him still doesn't know how he's supposed to act now that Blue  _shared_ something with them. 

Dark Leonardo resumes watering. "I don't know why I brought it back. Just...curious, I guess. I guess I figured, why not? They gave it to me, I'm not going to hand it back." 

His posture, which had been startled into tenseness when Dark Raph asked the question, is slowly starting to relax. 

Dark Raph, meanwhile, is starting to lose steam, defaulting back to his usual state of being only 'slightly irritated',(which of course, would be considered 'furious' to any normal person), instead of 'enraged brute ready to attack at any moment.'

"...it doesn't make any sense," he complains, voice now a low grumble. "They're...they're weak. We beat 'em easily once, but we haven't been able to do that since. How'd they get so strong so fast?"

"...They...care for each other. They said it made them stronger...ridiculous as it sounds. Maybe they're right."

This gets a startled laugh from Dark Raph. "Heh, good one! And you fell for it? Maybe we should be calling _you_ the Idiot instead of Orange!"

"I hear someone calling my name!" Dark Mikey, clinging to one of the wall rafters, cheerfully calls out. He must have just crept in, because he's the worst out of all of them at being stealthy. Maybe it's because he was cloned from the dumb one. 

Dark Mike grins, tongue lolling out of his mouth,saliva dripping from razor-sharp teeth. "Did anyone call for a genius? Prepare to be disappointed, cause you got me instead!" 

"Say it, don't spray it, chucklenuts! You're gonna make the floor all slippery, and Darius is already mad enough as is!" Dark Raph, scowling, bares his own scissor-like teeth at the yellowish turtle. 

"Finneeee." Dark Mikey drops to the ground. "Hey, what's that?"

"It's a plant,  _genius_ ," Dark Raph bites out, "I thought even you would know what it is."

Dark Leo decides not to mention that Red had asked the very same question just a few moments earlier. Meanwhile, Dark Mikey pouts, arms crossing.

"I resemble that remark!"

"You mean,  _resent that remark_ ," a cool voice drawls. Stepping out from the shadows of a doorway, Dark Don, as usual, makes his dramatic entrance into the room.

 _He's most likely been standing there for a good five minutes waiting for the perfect moment to arrive_ , Dark Leonardo thinks. Purple is kind of a drama queen, and he's prone to doing stuff like waiting in the shadows thinking of the best line that will no doubt either unnerve and/or let everyone in the room know how much of a genius he is. 

"I see you've brought something back," Dark Don continues, doing his best impression of someone who is indifferent to the entire situation, but his tail twitches give away his curiosity, a tell that he hasn't yet figured out. 

(When Purple is curious, the end of his tail usually curls up by his feet, which it is currently doing right now.) 

"A memento from our lessers? I didn't think you were the type, Blue. As for the plant, as you so crudely described it, looks like it is probably an _Acer buergerianum._ " While he spoke, Dark Donatello approached Dark Leonardo until he was close enough for either of them to strike. 

Dark Leonardo stares at the shrub, ignoring Purple's probing gaze. "It's just a plant. Not everything has some kind of hidden meaning."

"What would it mean, anyway?" Dark Mikey asks, curiously turning his gaze back and forth between Dark Leonardo and Dark Donatello. Dark Raph scuffs at the floor with his toes and pretends he isn't interested in the conversation anymore. 

"Something weak, I suppose. You've been growing more and more soft ever since you came back. I didn't think you had it in you."

Dark Raph turning his head, notices something about the container Blue was using to water his dumb plant. 

"If he's soft, what about you? You're the one who's letting 'im use one of your vials!"

"...I assure you, that vial was useless to me, so I threw it out. What it became afterwards is no longer my concern." 

Dark Mikey scratches his arm. "But I thought you said you would never throw anything out, and even if it wasn't usable, you hate having us touch your stuff."

The glare Purple gave him was frostier than a snowman eating a popsicle at the North Pole. "Ummmm...nevermind!" Dark Mikey squeaks, backpedaling as fast as he can.

Dark Donatello sighs. "Call it scientific curiosity, Orange, that allows me to overlook a previous rule. Under any normal circumstance, though, I would not allow any such a theft to take place."

Dark Mikey nods furiously. "Sorry Purple, didn't mean to be such an idiot."

"I suppose I can't blame you for that." Dark Don's tone could almost,but not really, be perceived as little bit fond, if you listened really closely and ignored the sarcasm that overlay it. 

Dark Leonardo places the pot down gently, closely examining the leaves and soil for any abnormalities, not that he's quite sure what they would look like. 

"What can you even do with those sort of things anyway?" Dark Raph asks boredly. 

"I guess you could talk to them?" Dark Mikey suggests, looking hopefully at the bonsai. "Can they talk back?"

Dark Raph laughs, but Dark Don considers the plant. "No, unless it's some kind of alien species. There's one breed of plant grown in the..."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, you're smart." Red says cutting off the science ramble before it can get going. 

Dark Leo tells Orange, "It can't talk back. But you can talk to it."

"Can I lick it?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I will stab you if you try."

"Sheesh. Can I name it, at least?"

"Name it?" All of the others ask, voices ranging from mocking, incredulous, and bemused.

"Yeah, cause it's alive, and it needs a name cause how else will they know when I'm talking to them?" Dark Mikey insists, eyes wide and pleading. 

Dark Leo sighs, once more. "Sure, why not."

"Are ya serious?" Dark Raph asks.

"I'll name youu...." Dark Mikey pauses, staring intently at the plant in Dark Leonardo's hands, "...Florando! Doctor Professor Florando the Second!" He bows respectfully at the bonsai. 

All of them look at each other, then at the plant. 

"Looks more like a "Hammer to me," Dark Raph eventually says. 

"I disagree," Dark Donatello butts in, "I would have named it after a true genius."

"Who?"

"Alfred P. Southwick, of course."

"Never heard of him." 

"Obviously."


End file.
